A Calculated Use of Sound
by Blindsided21
Summary: In order to entertain Rukia, Ichigo lets her listen to some music. What will this lead to? Oneshot.


Rukia was bored out of her mind. She had no manga to read and she had finished her homework hours ago. She sat on the edge of her bed in Ichigo's closet and looked at her roommate. He was seated at his desk, still working on his homework. _'Lucky,'_ Rukiathought. She sighed.

"Ichigo, I'm bored," she moaned.

"Well what do you expect me to do about it?" Ichigo snapped. "I have to finish this paper. I don't have time to entertain you."

"What are you working on?" the bored shinigami asked.

"An assignment for my Literature class," Ichigo answered. "I read a book and now I have to write a paper about it."

"What book?" Rukia asked. Ichigo turned around in his chair and glared at Rukia. They stared hard at each other for five seconds before Rukia turned her attention to the window. Ichigo went back to work. All was silent for two minutes before Rukia resumed her bored sighing. Ichigo opened one of the drawers in his desk, grabbed something black and rectangular from inside and threw it at Rukia.

"Here!" he shouted as he tossed the object. "Listen to this and stay quiet!" Rukia looked at the object. It had a big rectangular screen on one side with a black circle under it. On the back was the word "iPod".

"What is this?" Rukia asked. Ichigo, holding back his frustration, let out a big breath of air.

"It's an iPod," he said. "You use it to listen to music. Stick the buds at the end of the wires in your ears and press the lower part of the circle."

Rukia did as she was told. She put the ear buds in her ears and pressed the bottom part of the circle while Ichigo watched her. A loud wall of noise assaulted her ear drums. Loud distorted sound, almost like an explosion, filled her ears. She fell off her bed and yanked the ear buds out of her ears. Ichigo was laughing so hard he was almost on the floor too.

"What the hell was that!" Rukia screamed when her hearing returned to her.

"Let's see," Ichigo said standing from his chair and picking up the iPod. "That would be...Converge."

"What is Converge?" Rukia screamed.

"A band," Ichigo replied.

"A band of what?" Rukia said finally calming down.

"Of musicians," Ichigo answered.

Rukia stood up. "That was not music," she said pointing to the iPod in Ichigo's hand. "That was a bunch of people banging on trashcans while someone was trying to scream over them."

Ichigo traced the circle on the iPod with his thumb several times. "Here," he said handing the iPod to Rukia. "This might be more to your liking." Rukia slowly and cautiously put the ear buds back in her ears. She pressed the play button. This time, instead of being assaulted by a wall of sound, Rukia was treated to a soft, echoing melody. After this melody was repeated several times a soft voice began singing.

Rukia pulled out one of the ear buds. "Now _this_ is music," she said. "What's this song called?"

"Pachuca Sunrise" by Minus the Bear," Ichigo answered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my homework." Ichigo sat back down at his desk while Rukia laid down on Ichigo's bed and listened to music. The next few songs were very catchy and melodic. Rukia loved every minute of music she heard. After half and hour she sat up and took the ear plugs out of her ears.

"Ichigo?" Rukia said. Ichigo turned towards her. He was in a much better mood now that his paper was almost done.

"What?"

"What instruments do these musicians use?" Rukia asked.

"Guitars, a bass and drums," Ichigo answered. "Why?"

"What's a guitar?" the curious dark haired girl asked.

"You don't know what a guitar is?" Ichigo asked in disbelief. Rukia shook her head. Ichigo stood up and walked to where his guitar was at the foot of his bed and picked it up.

"Oh. That thing?" Rukia said. "I always wondered what that was."

"Well," Ichigo began, "this is a guitar. You strum the strings to make sound." Ichigo sat down on his bed with the guitar in his lap and demonstrated by playing a chord. This sound was soft and weak.

"What makes it so loud on the songs I listened to?" Rukia asked. Ichigo reached under his bed and pulled out a small black box. He grabbed a cable attached to it and plugged the other end into the side of the guitar. He flicked a switch on the box and played another chord, this one, louder than the first.

"An amplifier," Ichigo finally answered.

"Can I try?" Rukia asked eagerly. Ichigo hesitated for a second but acquiesced. He motioned for Rukia to have a seat next to him and when she did, Ichigo placed the guitar in her lap and handed her the pick he was using. Rukia put her fingers on random frets and strings and strummed the guitar where Ichigo had strummed it. The sound that came out of the amp was dissonant and ugly. Rukia frowned.

"Here, let me show you," Ichigo said. He leaned over and placed Rukia's fingers in the shape of an A major chord. "Now try."

Rukia strummed again and this time she was greeted with a beautiful sound. She giggled and began strumming the guitar harder and faster.

"This is so cool!" she exclaimed. "Teach me more!"

Ichigo spent the next hour teaching Rukia how to play the guitar. He even taught her to play part of one of her favorite songs from Ichigo's iPod. Ichigo enjoyed teaching Rukia. She seemed really curious and innocent, which was cute. She could be a really nice girl when she wasn't incredibly annoying.

"This is so much fun," Rukia said as she finished playing a melody.

"Yeah, but it's time to go to bed," Ichigo said. Rukia looked at the clock. It was almost 11 p.m.

"Can you teach me more tomorrow?" Rukia asked as she handed Ichigo the guitar. He put it on its stand at the foot of the bed.

"Sure," Ichigo said smiling. Rukia stood up and hugged him.

"Thanks," she chirped. She jumped into her bed in Ichigo's closet and shut the door.

Ichigo stood in the middle f the room, staring at the closed closet door. He slowly smiled. He was looking forward to the next day.


End file.
